Beast

After talking to Toby, I rode my bike out of town. I whizzed past the mystery man's house. I pedaled faster and veered off to the left. This was a hiking trail. The trail led to a lake. I've never taken anyone with me, and I wasn't about to start. I turned my head to make sure no one was following me. After I made sure no one was following me, I looked forward and nearly had a heart attack. I braked my wheels and took a deep breath in. There was at least two inches between us. If I kept going, I would've run him down.

“Whoa, easy there.,” he placed his hands over mine.

I didn't realize I was gripping the handles so hard. My eyes were still wide. This was the mystery man's brother. His hand was warm against my skin. My mouth kept opening and closing. He must have thought I was stupid.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any attention.”

He moved his hands and shrugged. “It's not a problem. You didn't hit me. Just look out next time. The name's Tom.”

For a moment, I wanted his hands back on mine. “Uh, Demitra... or Demi. Either is fine.”

He was quiet for a while, then he smiled. “I've seen you around. Seems like you don't like my brother much.”

My brows rose. “What do you mean?”

“He tells me about you. He says your always glaring at him.”

“He's an arrogant asshole. But, I don't hate him,” I mumbled. “I'm just curious about you guys.”

I slapped my hand against my forehead. I couldn't believe I just said that. I bit my lip and shifted my feet. I was still sitting on my bike. The silence droned on as he stared off into the trees.

“I think I'm going to go,” I said and backed up my bike.

He grabbed the handles of my bike, making me stop. My eyes widened. He laughed; it was deep and throaty.

“You have any questions you's like to ask?” He asked, looking serious.

I stared at him for a moment. “Are you serious?”

“Sure,” he smiled. “Just remember: curiosity killed the cat.”



We walked to the lake in silence. The trail was bright and easy to see. By the time we reached the lake, I was winded. I looked at Tom. He didn't look tired in the least. I huffed and stopped walking. Tom looked around, smiling. It was like he knew the place.

“There's a boulder over there,” he pointed across the lake. “We'll talk there.”

I nodded and hopped on my bike. I rode to the boulder in no time. I leaned my bike against a tree. Tom took his time getting to the big rock. I rubbed my eyes and sat on the boulder. He sat next to me; close enough that I could feel heat radiating off his body.

“What would you like to know, Little Red,” he teased, pulling off my hood.

“You guys used to live here,” I was straightforward. “Why leave and then come back all these years later?”

He calculated my face and saw that I was serious. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. He was thinking, hard. I was about to ask a different question. But, he spoke.

“It's complicated. My family was needed elsewhere. My brother and I decided to come back. We had no family to say goodbye to.”

“What was your brother doing in the woods a few days ago? I was following... something, and he came out of nowhere.”

He shrugged. “He has a fancy for nature. He enjoys taking pictures. Always had a knack for those cameras. He had to wait such a long time to finally get one.”

Tom mumbled the last sentence. My brows knitted together.

“Did you follow me?” I asked.

He had an amused look on his face. “Why? You think I'm the big bad wolf?”

I glared at him. “I'm the one asking the questions here. Save them for next time.”

A smirk graced those lips. “There's going to be a next time we talk?”

My cheeks heated up. “I didn't mean it like that.”

“Sure,” he laughed.

He was just as irritating as his brother. I rolled my eyes and picked at my shirt.

“What's your brother's name?” I looked at Tom.

He leaned back against the boulder. “Sam.”

I stared at him and sighed. These two were the same, yet different in every way. Tom was more open. Sam seemed to be hiding things. The two of them teased me the same way. I ran a hand through my hair and looked out at the lake. It was so peaceful and quiet. I wish it was like this all the time.

“I have a question,” Tom intruded my thoughts.

I smiled and nodded. “Throw it at me.”

“Why do you care so much about why my brother and I are here? I mean, I'm pretty sure people move in and out of this place a lot. Why us?”

“I don't know. It's just when you guys came back... I thought there was something out in the woods that came back, too.” I kept my gaze at the body of water. “When I was younger I had this little friend, he was always there. Then, he left. After a few years, you guys move in and I hear him and feel him.”

When I finished, I looked over at Tom. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring off into space again.

“I know I sound crazy, but -”

He laughed. “You don't sound crazy. That's just weird. So, because you think that your friend is back and we came around that same time, we're the whole reason why? I don't really understand that at all.”

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Every night I would wait by the edge of the woods, waiting for him to come back. He never did. You guys came and I heard him in the woods.”

“Just who or what is your friend?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but I stayed quiet. Tom obviously thought that I was crazy now. From what I was saying, I could have been talking about Bigfoot or something. I shook my head and stood up. The way he was looking at me, showed that he was laughing on the inside. And, when I left, I knew for sure that he'd start laughing. I got on my bike and sped away. I didn't look back.

“Hey!” He yelled. “What's wrong?”

Luckily, I was half way out of the trail before a tear fell from my eye.